(Restaurant Now Closed)
By
The Artful Diner
Special to nj.com
2/27/2006
Every year at about this time, the family gets together to
celebrate my wife's birthday. And since I'm usually on the prowl for a suitable
eatery to review and recommend for St. Patrick's Day reveling and dining, we
generally find ourselves chowing down in an Irish pub/restaurant.
This year, J.W. Ginty's seemed like a sure bet.
Ensconced in the old Meyersville Inn, it was centrally located for all
concerned, sported a sufficiently diverse menu (Irish/Continental) to
accommodate a variety of gastronomic persuasions and, last but not least, had
received three big stars (out of four) from S.J. Gintzler of the Star-Ledger
(9/16/05). I mean, what could possibly go wrong...?
A great deal as it turned out. Despite Ms. Gintzler's
glowing review, it became immediately apparent that Chef Jay Uqdah's cuisine is
incredibly wide of the mark. I won't say that it's beneath contempt -- although
other members of our party undoubtedly would -- but it is, unfortunately,
entirely too close for comfort.
Since the restaurant clearly postures itself as a purveyor
of presentations from the Emerald Isle -- and one of our diners was of Irish
descent -- let us begin with the so-called house specialties... The corned beef
& cabbage ($13.00) was an unmitigated travesty. The corned beef exhibited a
strange texture -- which may charitably be described as plasticized Styrofoam --
and sported a malodorous bouquet and taste to match. And the shepherd's pie
($13.75) was another gastronomic desecration. There was precious little "ground
beef, onions, carrots in savory gravy," to quote the menu. But this hardly
mattered, as the entire concoction was completely devoid of anything
approximating flavor and was buried beneath a mountain of
bland-leading-the-bland mashed potatoes.
My wife is particularly fond of fish 'n' chips. So while we
were enjoying a pre-dinner glass of wine, she asked the bartender if he would
recommend the "Dublin-style" ($13.75) noted on the restaurant's bill of fare.
"It's hard to mess up fish 'n' chips," he responded... But he was wrong. The
kitchen found a way. The presentation was almost all batter (rather greasy at
that) while the few morsels of fish that were present appeared to be engaged in
a spirited game of hide-and-seek. Malt vinegar was conspicuous by its absence,
and the chips were nothing more than generically nondescript industrial steak
fries.
When it came to the "Today's Tuesday, it must be Belgium"
enumeration of entrées and copious catalog of daily specials, the results were
also exceedingly disappointing.
The rack of lamb in port cherry wine sauce ($28.00), a
special of the evening, was both poorly conceived and clumsily executed. The
lamb was inordinately fatty, the attending sauce entirely too sweet and, adding
insult to injury, the entire dish had to be sent back for reheating because it
was cold. The special filet mignon with bleu cheese bacon sauce ($27.50) was
certainly a cut above the lamb but still nothing to get excited about... and the
crab mashed potatoes added a decidedly discordant note.
Other possible stopovers on this round the world tour
included rosemary-scented pork loin stuffed with apricots & cranberries and
finishing of port wine sauce ($18.00); pan-seared lacquered salmon teamed up
with Asian vegetables and lo mein noodles ($18.00); pepper-encrusted tuna
Provençal ($18.00); and Chilean sea bass in a tequila/lime butter sauce
($26.00).
At this point, of course, it had become painfully obvious
that the menu was entirely too ambitious for its own and the diner's good and that
the kitchen's reach exceeded its grasp by a significantly wide margin.
Appetizers were a mixed bag. The "Drunken Mussels" ($8.75)
swam to table in a funky, off-puttingly viscous broth tinctured with tequila
& lime and tasted suspiciously "fishy." The Irish potato pancakes ($7.50)
were bland and biscuit-like and were accompanied by a sharp cheddar/Gruyere
dipping sauce that had the flavor and consistency of Cheez Whiz. The "Bangers
& Mashed" ($8.75), oxymoronically, came replete with turkey sausage of all
things, although the attending gravy -- spruced up with bacon morsels and puréed
yams and apples -- was quite good... as was the poached pear & spinach salad
($7.25) dotted with candied walnuts, dried cranberries, crumbled bleu cheese,
and finished with a very nice honey cider vinaigrette.
Desserts, on the other, hand, were completely forgettable.
The special apple crepes garnished with cinnamon ice cream ($6.25) were
rubbery, the chocolate lava cake ($6.25) completely tasteless, and the
individual peanut butter pie ($6.25) had obviously spent too much time kicking
around in the back of the fridge; its inordinately compact consistency would
have benefited greatly from the ministrations of an electric knife.
If you're intent upon dining here -- I, personally, would
avoid it like the plague -- my advice is to stick with the simple pub fare. Your
palate may still receive short shrift, but at least the odds and tariffs are in
your favor. Go with the burger ($8.00), tuna burger ($9.00), cheese steak
($8.75), or classic Reuben ($8.50) and hope for the best. But, whatever you do,
be sure to sample the unaccountably delicious Irish potato bacon soup ($4.25;
complimentary cup included with entrées).
In my estimation, this establishment's one redeeming feature
is the comfy bar/lounge. There are a number of very nice wines available by the
glass -- Chalone Chardonnay ($9.00), Markham Merlot ($11.00), Charles Krug
Cabernet ($11.00), Rosenblum Zinfandel ($8.50), etc., etc. -- as well as a good
selection of bottled and draft brews and single malt scotches.
Bottom line strategy: Pay a call at J. W. Ginty's bar
for a preprandial libation and some pleasant chit-chat... then, by all means,
beat a hasty retreat and shuffle on across the street and enjoy some first-rate
Mexican cuisine at Casa Maya (BYOB). Trust me on this, culinary discretion will
prove to be the better part of peristaltic valor.
Cuisine: Continental/Irish
Hours:Lunch: Tues - Sat, 11:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.; Dinner: Mon - Thurs, 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Fri & Sat, 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.; Sun, 3:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.; Sunday Brunch: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Credit Cards: All major
Attire: Casual
Smoking: Smoking is permitted in the bar area only.
Reservations: Accepted
Parking: Onsite
Alcohol: License
Price: Moderate
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
